Various Composers - Miniatures. Pieces for Clarinet & Piano (Anastasia Schmidlin; Denis Zhdanov)

Information

• Sergei Prokofiev - Five Pieces from “Romeo and Juliet” (arr. Federico Kurtz de Griñó)
• Germaine Tailleferre - Trois danses de "La Nouvelle Cythère", for Clarinet and Piano
• Othmar Schoeck - Andante for Clarinet and Piano in E-flat Major
• Joseph Horovitz - Two Majorcan Pieces for Clarinet and Piano
• Krzysztof Penderecki - Three Miniatures for Clarinet and Piano
• Witold Lutosławski - Dance Preludes for Clarinet and Piano

Anastasia Schmidlin, clarinet

Denis Zhdanov, piano

Date: 2025

Label: Prospero Classical

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This program presents a vivid panorama of 20th-century European music, featuring works from Russia, France, Switzerland, Great Britain, and Poland. Through stage scenes, miniatures, dances, and impressionistic textures, it highlights poetic expression and rhythmic energy within an intimate chamber setting. Arrangements from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet open the journey with dramatic contrast, followed by the wit of Tailleferre and the lyricism of Schoeck and Horovitz. Penderecki’s concise miniatures and Lutosławski’s Dance Preludes bring the program to a dynamic close, uniting folkloric vitality with refined compositional craft.

Anastasia Schmidlin is an accomplished clarinetist active as a soloist, chamber musician, and advocate of contemporary music. She performs with the ensemble Dissolution, collaborates closely with pianist Denis Zhdanov, and frequently works with composers on new projects. As a soloist, she has appeared with leading Swiss orchestras, including the Lucerner Sinfonieorchester and argovia philharmonic, and has collaborated with prominent musicians such as Yuri Temirkanov and Heinz Holliger. A regular guest at major festivals, Schmidlin also maintains a strong pedagogical profile, teaching at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the Lucerne Music School, alongside jury and expert engagements.

Denis Zhdanov is a Ukrainian concert pianist, educator, and entrepreneur based in Austria. His expansive repertoire includes around 30 concertos and a broad spectrum of solo and chamber works. Recent highlights include performances with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Poznan Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Festival Strings Lucerne, and Lodz Philharmonic, alongside innovative projects combining piano with film and animation. Zhdanov has taught at Hochschule Luzern-Musik and the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, guiding multiple prize-winning students. A decorated competitor, he has won top prizes at international contests in Barcelona, Rome, Poznan, and Helsinki, and has recorded works for labels including Naxos and the A. Rubinstein Foundation.

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